University
students take on the role of public consultation panel to study ethical
dilemmas

As part of their modules Targeting Biochemical Knowledge to
Medical Problems and Current Topics in Medical Genetics more than fifty
second-year Medical Biochemistry and Genetics students recently took
part in the interactive drama, A Present for Anna, performed by the Exstream
Theatre Company.

The drama focuses around the story of Anna who is suffering
from Fanconi Anaemia and desperately needs a bone marrow transplant.
Unfortunately no living relative is a match, and her best hope therefore lies
with her parents having another child. To remove the element of chance,
doctors would like to extend the legislation on pre-implantation genetic
diagnosis of embryos so that they could make sure the baby has the right genes
to save Anna. But would this be right? What about the embryos that did not
prove suitable? Would there be any psychological effects on an individual
'picked' to aid their sister?

A major part of the interactive drama involved the student
audience taking on the role of the public consultation panel to debate, and
finally decide whether the law should be changed so that pre-implantation
genetic diagnosis can include selection of a tissue match. Although fictional,
the story of Anna closely echoes some real-life cases. The drama followed on
from another activity in which the students on the module have worked to
produce a set of web pages reviewing other web-based resources that address a
range of different bio-ethical topics.

Biochemistry Lecturer Dr Chris Willmott, who was
responsible for bringing the touring production to the University, commented
that "the explosion of new molecular technologies in the last ten years
has brought the potential for exciting new therapies for genetic diseases.
But they bring with them a whole raft of ethical dilemmas which previous
generations have never had to think about. Consideration of both the
underlying science and the ethical arguments relating to these topics is an
important component of this module. The drama provided an excellent
opportunity for students to explore the issues surrounding one of these
dilemmas."

Last updated: 13 May 2003 10:55
Created by: Barbara WhitemanThis document has been approved by the head of department
or section.
If you are an authorised user you may
edit this document through your Web
browser.